The long-running legal saga surrounding Marlborough gallery dealer Pierre Levai has deepened, with yet another lawsuit surrounding the gallerist’s final months.
His son Max Levay now claims Pierre was “captured” by Marcia Levine, a beneficiary of his trust and whom Max’s lawsuit calls his “long-time lover.” According to the lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on December 9, Pierre’s wife, Rosemary Levay, “knew” of Levine’s relationship with him.
The lawsuit was first reported this weekend new york postalleging that Levine “kept him sick, starved, and physically incapacitated in order to better misappropriate his assets and the assets of trusts with which he was associated.” Levine is also accused of confusing information about Levine’s health details to keep the family in the dark.
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Max Levai is currently suing to prevent a trust set up by Pierre from disbursing funds to Levai. The trust, which contains more than $1 million in assets, is said to be represented by trustee Hanno Mott, an arts attorney named as a defendant along with Levine, according to the lawsuit.
Representatives for Levine did not respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Leroy and Mott declined to comment.
According to the lawsuit, Pierre Levoi died on June 26 at the age of 87, but news of his death was not publicly reported until mid-August. For decades, Leroy led the New York branch of London’s Marlborough Gallery. Levai has been operating in New York since 1963, and the gallery has hosted important solo exhibitions for artists such as Philip Guston, Marisol and Alex Katz.
In April, the Marlborough gallery announced it would begin winding down operations in June after nearly 80 years in business. The gallery has been at the center of multiple lawsuits in the years leading up to the announcement, including two competing lawsuits filed in 2020 surrounding the leadership of gallery president Max Levai. Both cases have been resolved. This year, Max told art news He has not been involved with the gallery since 2020.
Also this year, before Levy’s death, his family sued Levine in Miami, claiming she was trying to consolidate power over the dealer’s estate, which was reportedly worth $50 million at the time.
The new lawsuit in New York centers on whether Levine “recklessly caused” Levy’s death before he was hospitalized in Florida.
According to the lawsuit, Leroy was diagnosed with vascular dementia in January in Florida. In the context of a dispute at Leroy’s New York apartment, his family allegedly attempted to contact him by phone and in person, but were unsuccessful. The lawsuit alleges that Levine then changed Levay’s finances so that they were under her control.
In April, as Levine’s health declined, it appears that Levy had authorized documents giving Levine authority over him and his estate. Max Levai claims he did not do so voluntarily. “It was not until Ms. Levine had written Pierre’s alleged signature on the documents that she took Pierre to the hospital,” the lawsuit states.
That same month, Pierre Leroy was hospitalized in critical condition. Medical records submitted as part of the lawsuit show he hadn’t eaten in three weeks.
A death certificate dated June 26 showed he suffered from respiratory failure and pneumonia. The certificate said he suffered septic shock before his death.
